My First Time in Costa Rica: 4 Road Trip Destinations You Must Visit For The Best Food, Nature and Fun (With Video)

Planning a trip to the land of Pura Vida? This travel guide features my 5-day Costa Rica road trip itinerary, sharing must-visit destinations with some of the best things to do, places to eat, drink and stay.

Pura Vida Costa Rica!

Costa Rica holds a special title for me as being my first country in Central America.

You’ll hear “Pura Vida” used everywhere in Costa Rica, and I got to understand what it really meant during my time there.

Pura Vida isn’t just a saying. It’s their way of life that’s relaxed, happy, and deeply connected to nature, the people and the food.

The best way to explore any new country is with a local. I was lucky to have an amazing guide, Maria Avares, who was the key to understanding the real Costa Rica.

Over five full days, we went from volcanic landscapes and lush cloud forests to the bustling streets and markets of San Jose.

A huge part of Costa Rica’s magic is its food and how it’s all connected to the incredible, ever-changing landscape. I made sure to try some of the best restaurants and places to eat in Costa Rica, all while meeting the chefs behind them.

This 5-day Costa Rica road trip is the perfect way to see (and taste!) why this country’s biodiversity is so special.

Video: A First-Timer’s 5-Day Costa Rica Road Trip

In this travel video, Travelling Foodie Raymond Cua takes you on a 5-day itinerary packed with adventure (ziplining, cloud forest tours) and incredible food, from 5-star tasting menus in San Jose to the freshest trout in Cachi and Wagyu beef in Monteverde.

Watch the video embedded below, or watch on YouTube here

Getting to Costa Rica From Toronto and the USA

Getting to Costa Rica is surprisingly easy.

The main airport for this itinerary is Juan Santamaria International (SJO) in San Jose, which is the start and end points of my Costa Rica road trip.

From my home base in Toronto (YYZ), there are direct flights on Air Canada and Air Transat, which take about 5.5 hours. I arrived late at night, past midnight, which worked out well for starting fresh the next day.

Travelers from Montreal (YUL) and Calgary (YYC) can also find great flight options, with seasonal direct service often available to both San Jose and Liberia.

If you’re coming from the United States, you have even more options.

SJO is very accessible with direct flights from major hubs like Atlanta, Denver, Houston, Miami, New York City, and Fort Lauderdale.

It’s also worth noting that many of these same US hub, like Atlanta, Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, and Dallas-Fort Worth, also offer direct flights to Costa Rica’s other major international airport, Daniel Oduber Quirós in Liberia (LIR), which is a popular entry point for visiting the Guanacaste coast.

Why You Should Do A Road Trip in Costa Rica

This was the biggest lesson I learned on my trip. A road trip is essential because Costa Rica’s identity is defined by its geography, and that connects directly to its food.

The country is a narrow land bridge between the Caribbean and Pacific oceans, and it’s split right down the middle by volcanic mountain ranges.

This unique setup creates dozens of “microclimates.”

The trade winds and coastal air hit the mountains in different ways, creating unique ecosystems and agricultural conditions.

This means you get a wide variety of meats, fruits, vegetables and other agricultural products.

A road trip is the only way to experience this!

Driving just a couple of hours takes you from the temperate, urban Central Valley of San Jose to the cold, high-altitude peak of a volcano, then to a misty, cool cloud forest, and finally to a warm, humid volcanic basin.

But you’re not just driving to new places. As travelling foodies, you’re also driving through new pantries. One region is perfect for coffee, another for sugarcane, another for tropical fruits.

This is the foundation of Costa Rica’s culinary and farm-to-table scene. This 5-day Costa Rica road trip was about adventure, nature, and tasting “Pura Vida on a plate.”

Costa Rica Road Trip Destinations – Best Things To Do, Restaurants & Hotels

My 5-day itinerary went like this:

• I landed in San Jose
• Did a day trip to Cartago
• Explored San Jose
• Road-tripped to Monteverde
• Road-tripped to Arenal
• Took a road trip back to San Jose before flying out.

Here are all the best things to do, restaurants and hotels in Costa Rica that I experienced on my road trip.

San José

Many people will tell you to skip the capital San Jose, but I must insist you still spend time here especially if you’re a foodie.

San Jose, or “Chepe” as locals call it (a nickname for Jose), isn’t just a pass-through city. It’s the cultural anchor of the country and a culinary hotspot.

It’s set in the temperate Central Valley, and you can feel its history. The city was born in 1737 as a trading post, a middle point for merchants.

Its original name was Villa Nueva de la Boca del Monte, but it eventually took the name of its church, San Jose.

Best Things To Do in San Jose

Barrio Escalante

Barrio Escalante is where you find the modern culinary heart of the city, and it’s one of the best places to visit in Costa Rica for nightlife.

I learned that this neighborhood was once dominated by coffee plantations. Today, it’s a booming “gastronomic hub” and the place to be for craft cocktails and innovative restaurants.

Central Market (Mercado Central)

Established in 1880, Central Market is one of the top San Jose attractions and oldest landmarks in the city.

I visited the market during the ChepeCletas food tour. This true cultural hub is a block-wide, maze-like building where you can easily get lost among its 200+ vendors.

It’s where chepes (San Jose locals) converge to shop, eat, and socialize, and you can find everything from clothes and hand-crafted souvenirs to hot meals and fresh meats & produce to even horse saddles and spiritual healing goods.

Borbon Market (Mercado Borbon)

We also visited the nearby Mercado Borbon, which is one of the biggest cooperative markets in Latin America, dating to 1944.

I learned this long hallway was actually the old ox cart hotel, where merchants stayed. It’s also where many top chefs and Costa Rica restaurants get their fresh ingredients.

In fact, we actually ran into Chef Humberto Romaguera of Corazón Contento restaurant, who was looking for a specific type of bean.

When I asked what the Borbon Market means to chefs and restaurants like him, he said that while other markets are only on weekends, you can come to Borbon any day for specific ingredients, often buying directly from the producers.

Explore Downtown

Downtown San Jose is the vibrant core of the city. It’s great to explore on foot, especially along the famous Central Avenue Pedestrian Boulevard, which is the city’s source of energy.

It connects key landmarks like the Central Market, Morazán Park and the National Theater of Costa Rica, and it’s buzzing with shops and local life.

National Theater of Costa Rica (Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica)

Located by the Plaza de la Cultura, National Theater of Costa Rica is one of the best places to visit in San Jose and the city’s most revered building.

It’s a perfect example of the coffee-culture link. It’s a stunning neoclassical building constructed in 1897, and it was funded by a tax on coffee exports.

Best Restaurants and Food Tour in San Jose

Azotea Calle 7

If you’re looking for where to eat in San Jose with a view, it’s Azotea Calle 7, the stunning rooftop restaurant and bar at Hotel Presidente.

It’s a chic, modern space with a garden overlooking the city, perfect for bocas (small bites) and craft cocktails.

I came here for dinner on my last night with a curated menu by Chef Yendry Soto focusing on elevated traditional Costa Rican food.

Don’t miss the Sea Bass Ceviche Sampler (the passion fruit one was my fave), Seared Yellowfin Tuna and Mango Montadito, Hand Made “Empanaditas” and the Tostones de Yuca.

I’d only had plantain tostones, but these yuca ones topped with carne desmechada (shredded beef) were pure Costa Rican comfort.

Ceviche Sampler:
1) Passion Fruit Seabass Ceviche and Avocado
2) Seabass Ceviche with Tajín, Mango and Jalapeño Hot Pepper
3) Traditional Seabass Ceviche

Hand Made “Empanaditas”: Turrialba Cheese, “Frijoles Molidos”, “Picadillo de Papa” with Tomatillo Sauce

Seared Yellow Fin Tuna and Mango on a fried green plantain toast seasoned with Tajín, Ponzu sauce, Chinese Cabbage, Red Cabbage, Toastted Sesame Seeds and Sesame oil

Cassava fried tortillas served with shredded flank beef, pico de gallo sauce and refried beans

“Arroz con Pollo” – served with potato chips

ChepeCletas Food Tour

ChepeCletas Food Tour was one of the best San Jose activities for travelling foodies since we love learning about the destination through its food.

Founded in 2010, this tour is the perfect way to understand the city’s food history.

With my ChepeCletas tour guide Alex (Aletz), we explored both Mercado Central and Mercado Borbon, learning the history and its cultural and culinary significance to locals and the country.

While at the Central Market, we visited multiple sodas and tasted a lot of local Costa Rican food, from traditional “sorbetera” ice cream (which dates to 1901) to chorreadas (corn pancakes), tortilla de queso, caldosas (ceviche in a bag of chips), and empanadas (both dessert and savoury versions!).

I love trying street food! It was my first time trying fried corn dough empanadas, and I’m hooked.

Here are all the sodas we visited and the street food I tried:

• Soda Tala: Cas Juice & Chorreada (Corn Pancake)
• Productos de Maíz Doña Martha: Sweet Pumpkin Empanada
• Soda Los Gemelos: Fried Beef Empanada and Chilera
• Pescaderia Isla del Coco: The “Caldosa” (Ceviche + Chips)
• Soda San Martin: Tortilla con Queso (Cheese and Corn Tortilla) and Queso Bagaces
• La Sorbetera de Lolo Mora: Yellow Cinnamon Sorbet

Chorreadas and Sour Guava Juice

Costa Rican Empanada and Caldosa

Soda San Martin and Tortilla de Queso

After the market, we had “bocas and beer” at a classic cantina called Acapulco Bar. Bocas are small dishes that historically came free with your beer.

I tried Costa Rican chifrijo (fried pork, rice, beans, pico de gallo) and olla de carne (a clean, traditional beef and vegetable soup).

We finished with a deep-dive coffee tasting at Cafeoteca, which was recently named #76 in The World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops.

I tried coffee from the Los Santos region processed using the “honey method” and saw a Costa Rican brewing method called the Vandola.

Grano de Oro Restaurant

The Grano de Oro Restaurant is inside the hotel of the same name. Here, French chef Francis Canal merges classic French-Mediterranean cuisine with Costa Rica’s fresh ingredients.

It’s one of the best restaurants in San Jose, even among locals and chefs I met.

And Restaurante Grano de Oro is also one of the best places to drink wine in Costa Rica: it’s the only restaurant to be consistently awarded by Wine Spectator from 2013 all the way to 2025.

Don Melchor Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 is Wine Spectator’s #1 Wine of the Year for 2024

I started with a Tico Sour (using Guaro, the local moonshine) and had an amazing meal.

Highlights included the Carpaccio de Corvina (uncommon to find and melts in your mouth), a traditional Sopa Pejibaye (so smooth and comforting) and the Lomito Pistachio (nutty, perfectly cooked with unique macadamia nut foam).

Tico Sour – guaro, lemon, egg white -Cheese and Mango Croquette

Carpaccio de Corvina – Seabass carpaccio, marinated with lemon and orange, capers, gooseberries, candied ginger and cilantro, sweet potato chips

Sopa Pejibaye – traditional palm fruit soup

Lomito Pistachio – Costa Rican beef tenderloin with a pistachio crust, mushroom reduction, macadamia nut foam

Tres Leches, Three milk cake

Restaurante Silvestre

Located in Barrio Escalante, Restaurante Silvestre is where to eat in San Jose for unique, creative and artistic Costa Rican fine dining. It’s set inside a beautiful, intimate house from the 1890s.

The minds behind Silvestre: Chef Santiago Fernández Benedetto is a culinary heritage ambassador for Visit Costa Rica and won a one-knife award at The Best Chef Awards, and Head Chef Marco at the helm.

We did the Soul tasting menu, which is a culinary journey through Costa Rican identity.

The concept rescues the spirit of old San Jose homes, and every course is inspired by a part of the national coat of arms. They even give you a souvenir to follow the storytelling.

The Silvestre Pairings included homemade passion fruit and raspberry wines and a Syrah from Costa Rica’s first winery.

The creativity was amazing, with savoury dishes like an “Oceans” course using invasive lionfish (a play on “bajalao,” or “go away”) and an elevated salchichón sausage with a cauliflower tamal shaped like a cloud, and a dessert tribute to Costa Rican astronaut Franklin Chang called “A Tico on the Moon” served as a flan with the first footprint on a moon crater plate.

Create Is Not Copying – cassava croquette, dehydrated tomato and bell pepper dust, heart of palm purée, cubaces bean purée

Homemade Tomato Vermouth

The Oceans
1) Pacific Ocean – mussels with a mussel paté, pickle salad, and two pujagua corn tortilla painted with calamari ink. Sardine bone cracker with sardine paté. A sardine sausage and a pickled sardine on top.
2) Atlantic Ocean – Ackee con Va Jalado

Homemade Passion Fruit Wine

Heart of Corn – with butter and ‘bagaces’ cheese, bread, onion, and coriander served with dehydrated, lacto-fermented blackberry dust

15/02 Millesime 2022 (Cava)

Central Range and The Seven Provinces – sweet potato stars, half-beef half-pork salchichones wrapped with chicharrones, cauliflower tamale shaped like a cloud. Served with two homemade sauces, a lemon mayo and a ginger ketchup

Homemade Raspberry Wine

Talamanca – heart of palm and corn warm salad, tortilla prepared with cassava and pejiballe, pork with whole skin covered in potato veil painted with onion ashes with with local indigenous writing. Plus three sauces (butternut squash, bell peppers, and dehydrated bananas)

Copey Tierra 2023

The Gossip – guava panna cotta on top of cookie drizzled with ‘poisonous gossip’ coffee caramel.

Written gossip underneath the ear cookie

Merchant Ships:
1) Tico on the Moon – A flan marked with the first moon footprint, a plantain mochi with burnt butter and miso, and edible lunar rocks
2) Drifting Ship (Petit Fours) – two cookies filled with banana cream, dehydrated banana peel, rum and tobacco jelly. An orange gummy with primitive cacao from Talamanca. And ‘arracache’ chip, a local root, in sugar cane reduction. The ‘cajetas’ are made with soy and also wrapped in white chocolate ganache, lemon jelly, and coconut.

Where To Stay in San Jose

Hotel Grano de Oro

Grano de Oro Hotel is a destination in itself. It’s a converted Victorian mansion, so it has a historic, cozy, and tropical charm.

Its name literally means “Bean of Gold,” a nod to the coffee bean. It’s also a top-tier certified sustainable hotel with a 4-Leaf rating from the Costa Rica Tourism Board and it won a Condé Nast Readers’ Choice Award in 2019.

I stayed at the King Room, which came with a welcome fruit plate and a complimentary mini-bar. A very nice touch.

Breakfast in Hotel Grano de Oro’s beautiful courtyard feels like you’re in a garden oasis.

I had the “Tico,” the traditional breakfast, which includes gallo pinto (the national dish of rice and beans), eggs, fresh tortillas, plantains, and Costa Rican turrialba cheese.

Hotel Presidente

For more modern accommodations in San Jose, Hotel Presidente is right on the Central Avenue Pedestrian Boulevard.

Founded in 1963, it’s also a leader in Green travel with a 4-Leaf sustainability rating and has its own private forest reserve in Cartago for conservation.

I stayed here on my last night in their beautiful Apex Room, which had a private terrace.

Cartago

We did a 1.5-hour day trip from San Jose to Cartago and were driving up into a completely different microclimate.

Cartago was the original capital of Costa Rica, and its landscape is dominated by the massive Irazu Volcano.

There’s even an agricultural region at the foot of the volcano, where fertile volcanic soils support rich farming traditions.

After visiting the volcano, we had a scenic drive about an hour and a half to the Cachi area.

Things To Do in Cartago

Cachi Dam and Lake

On the scenic drive to Cachi, you’ll pass the Cachi Dam and Lake, an interesting place to visit in Cartago.

Aside from being a beautiful viewpoint, it’s a massive piece of Costa Rican history being one of the country’s first major hydroelectric projects.

Irazu Volcano National Park (Parque Nacional Volcán Irazú)

Irazu Volcano National Park is one of the top Costa Rica tourist attractions and the main reason to visit Cartago.

Costa Rica has around 120 volcanoes, with seven being active, and Irazu is the tallest one that’s accessible to the public at a staggering 3,432 meters (11,260 feet).

It’s famous for its 1963 eruption that rained ash on San Jose. The native word for it is “Istaru,” meaning “mountain of the tremble and thunder.”

The weather was no joke during my visit: it was cold, windy, and misty.

The landscape is lunar-like, with a fascinating divide where plants can’t grow in the volcanic soil on one side, and on the other, it’s a “green lagoon” where they thrive.

I even saw the “poor man’s umbrella,” a giant Gunnera plant locals use for cover.

Travelling Foodie Tip: Grab a hot coffee from the cafeteria to warm up.

Best Restaurants in Cartago

Restaurant Casa José

After the volcano, we drove to the beautiful, lush Orosi Valley, in a town called Cachi. This Cartago restaurant is a hidden gem inside the Hotel Quelitales.

Restaurant Casa José feels less like a hotel and more like you’re invited into Chef José Álvarez’s home, surrounded by nature and a famous spot for birding with over 170 species.

The hotel’s name, “Quelitales,” even comes from “quelite,” the stem of the popular chayote vegetable.

Chef José Álvarez travels the world learning techniques and fuses them with traditional Costa Rican food. A great example is the Tropical Shrimp with Indian curry with Costa Rican fruits.

We had a classic sour guava (cas) juice, chicken broth with a “quelite” omelet, and a taste of Guaro Cacique, the local liquor.

You must get the House Special Trout! It’s a regional specialty, wrapped in a banana leaf with shrimp. We finished with coffee grown in the Cachi plantations and bananas flambéed tableside.

Chicken Broth with Quelite Omelette

Watercress Salad – garden fresh watercress over a bed of lettuce with tomato, red onion, lemon juice and salt

House Specialty Trout – filet wrapped in banana leaves with shrimp and tomatoes

Rosemary Chicken – chicken breast with rosemary, honey and lemon juice

Tropical Shrimp – Shrimp served with curry sauce and fresh fruit

Flambe Bananas with Brandy – served with ice cream

Monteverde

Our next Costa Rica road trip leg was a 3.5-hour drive from San Jose to “Monteverde,” which means Green Mountain. The climate shift is dramatic.

This is the famous cloud forest region, a high-elevation, misty, and incredibly biodiverse microclimate located between the Arenal Volcano and the Pacific side.

The region’s unique story is its conservation history. It was founded by Quakers from Alabama in 1951. They were fleeing the U.S. military draft and chose Costa Rica specifically because it had abolished its army.

Tourism and the dairy industry are the heart of this town today.

Pit Stop on the Way

El Jardín Orotina

On the drive from San Jose in the Alajuela province, we found the perfect “strategic stop.” It’s about an hour and a half from the city.

El Jardin Orotina is a beautiful spot with a cafeteria, souvenir shop, and a coffee area where you can try wood-fired roasted coffee.

My favorite part was the butterfly garden, with so many varieties flying all around.

Best Things To Do in Monteverde

El Trapiche Tour

El Trapiche Tour is one of the best Monteverde activities for foodies. It’s a tour on a 100% family-owned farm and a truly authentic and tasty immersion in Costa Rican culture.

What makes it special: it’s rare to find a single tour covering coffee, cacao, and sugarcane. Plus, it incredibly hands-on.

We pounded coffee beans, tasted raw cacao from the pod and coffee cherry, chewed on raw sugarcane, and even made our own “sobados” (traditional molasses candies).

The final tasting included a “Drink of the Gods” (hot chocolate with spices), guaro, fresh coffee, arracache picadillo and chocolate.

Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve

Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve is the heart of Monteverde and one of the best things to do in Costa Rica.

It was established in 1972 by the founding Quakers and scientists who realized the “outstanding biodiversity” needed to be protected.

We did a guided tour and it’s an easy, informative hike while being fully immersed and surrounded by nature. We also visited the beautiful cascade falls.

The biodiversity is incredible: of the 2,400 tree species in Costa Rica, 1,300 are here. Of the 935 bird species, 500 are here.

Travelling Foodie Tip: The nearby hummingbird garden is a free attraction and a must-see.

The Original Canopy Tour Monteverde

One of the most unique things you can do in Monteverde? Zip lining!

I’ve done zip lining a lot of times, but it’s my first time zip lining through a cloud forest.

Monteverde is the birthplace of the modern zipline! The world’s first recreational canopy tour was opened here in 1997, inspired by scientists who needed a way to study the forest canopy.

The Original Canopy Tour Monteverde is a full circuit of 10 different lines, plus a hammock bridge and a rappel.

The highlights for me were two things I’ve never done before: climbing inside a massive hollow Ficus tree following the rappel, and the Tarzan swing (exactly as it sounds!), which was an incredible adrenaline rush.

Best Restaurants in Monteverde

Nectandra Restaurant

Nectandra is the beautiful restaurant in Monteverde inside the Ocotea Boutique Hotel, with Chef Isaac Madrigal at the helm.

It’s an all-day dining concept focused on hyper-local ingredients, many from their on-site garden. I had all my meals here.

At lunch, I tried the juicy wagyu burger (I didn’t even know Costa Rica had wagyu), fresh fettuccine with the sweetest tomatoes, and a flan that came with smoked cheese.

Wagyu Hamburger – homemade brioche, 200g grilled hamburger, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, house pickles, fries and house mayo

Fresh Fetuccine – fresh pasta with pomodoro, cherry tomatoes and basil

Flan – smoked cheese and caramel

For dinner, Chef Isaac prepared a special tasting menu.

I had brioche with a burnt tortilla powder, a plantain tartlet amuse-bouche, sea bass ceviche with tiger’s milk (an absolute must!), and wagyu with a unique corn and cacao tartlet.

The dessert was a fresh goat cheese with matcha and a coconut sorbet. The goat cheese had this fun, squeaky texture like a cheese curd.

Sea Bass Ceviche with Plantains and Tiger Milk

Costa Rican wagyu, salad and corn & cacao tartlet

Coconut and Lime Sorbet with Matcha and Smoked Cheese

Breakfast, which was included with the stay, was also delicious.

I had the avocado eggs benedict, which used a unique creamy avocado sauce instead of hollandaise and was topped with house-cured tuna.

Fresh Watermelon Juice, Fruit Plate and Cappuccino

Avocado Eggs Benedict over English muffin, with creamy avocado sauce, arugula, chard and cured tuna

Where To Stay in Monteverde

Ocotea Boutique Hotel

This 21-room, small, family-run boutique hotel in Monteverde is nestled right in the cloud forest.

Ocotea Boutique Hotel is a masterclass in sustainability and one of the best certified sustainable hotels I’ve ever seen.

Get this: at full capacity, the entire hotel produces one single bag of trash per week. They use solar panels for hot water, treat their own water for sustainability (including rain water), use no single-use plastics, and compost everything.

It shows that true luxury and sustainability can go hand-in-hand.

I stayed at the Ocotea Room, which had a balcony (with umbrellas provided, a thoughtful touch for the rainy Monteverde climate), a complimentary mini-bar, and a cool open-concept bathroom.

Plus, be sure to check out the Monteverde Rooftop Bar at the Ocotea Boutique Hotel, which should be amazing for sunrise and sunset.

Arenal / La Fortuna

Our final Costa Rica road trip leg took us on a 2.5-hour drive from the cool, misty clouds of Monteverde down to the warm, humid base of the Arenal Volcano region.

The main town here is La Fortuna.

This area was a quiet farming town until the Arenal Volcano’s massive eruption in 1968, which put La Fortuna on the map.

The region’s microclimate is now defined by rich volcanic soil and, most importantly, powerful geothermal energy.

Best Things To Do in La Fortuna

Parroquia San Juan Bosco & Parque de La Fortuna (Central Park)

Parroquia San Juan Bosco (Iglesia Católica La Fortuna) & Parque de La Fortuna (Central Park) is the iconic center of town and a great photo spot, one of the key places to visit in La Fortuna.

Just a 10-minute drive from Tabacón, the park is perfectly manicured, and the charming church stands proudly with the massive, cone-shaped Arenal Volcano looming right behind it.

It’s the classic photo op. You can also see another dormant volcano from here, nicknamed the “Sleeping Indian.”

Tabacon Hot Springs

Tabacon Hot Springs is an essential Arenal attraction. It’s Costa Rica’s largest network of naturally flowing thermal mineral springs.

It was founded in 1991 by architect Jaime Mikowski, who saw the potential in the thermal streams and reforested the entire 900-acre property.

What I loved is that you’re not in a concrete pool like the Glenwood Hot Springs in Colorado. Instead, you’re in a hot river flowing through a lush jungle.

There’s also an adults-only section called the Shangri-La Gardens.

Best Restaurants in La Fortuna

Don Rufino

Opened in 2005, Don Rufino is a true culinary institution and one of the best restaurants in La Fortuna. It’s named after one of the town’s founders.

The concept is driven by Chef Santiago Fernández Benedetto, offering creative farm-to-table “fusion” cuisine in a beautiful open-air setting.

I did the tasting menu with wine pairings from my sommelier, Andrey, who has been there for 18 years.

The meal was a journey: a Fried Shrimp Tostada with furikake, Thrice-braised Beef Ribs that were melt-in-your-mouth (braised for 10-12 hours), and a dish of snook prepared in the style of the indigenous Maleku people.

The zero-waste focus on the Moist Banana Cake dessert, using banana peels for a crispy chip, was brilliant.

Fried shrimp tostadas – with scallions, house-made furikake, sweet potato, and tare sauce

Martín Códax (Albariño)

Grilled merguez lamb sausage – with roasted chili ajvar purée, mint chimichurri, and fresh cucumber yogurt

M. Chapoutier Côte du Rhône Belleruche (Rose Blend)

Thrice-braised beef ribs – with ginger, allspice, and honey glaze; local sweet potato cream

Saint Felicien (Malbec 2023)

Palm Heart Maleku Mafuriseca – Snook, liquorice, tender palm heart, and dried tomatoes on bijagua leaves

Morandé Estate Reserve One to One (Pinot Noir 2022)

– Beef short rib ravioli – With heart of palm purée from San Carlos, spinach, and chard with nutmeg
– New York steak – With crispy potato mille-feuille, caramelized onion, soubise sauce, grilled scallions, and crispy onions

Fond de Cave Gran Reserva (Cabernet Sauvignon 2021)

Moist banana cake – With Centenario 20-Year salted caramel, miso banana brûlée cream, crunchies, and burnt butter ice cream

Ron Centenario 30 Aniversario (Costa Rican Rum)

Tucanes Restaurant

Tucanes is the signature fine-dining restaurant in La Fortuna at Tabacon Thermal Resort. You dine in an open-air setting, completely surrounded by the tropical rainforest, hearing the sounds of nature.

Culinary Director Chef Saúl Umaña has created a tasting menu inspired by Costa Rica’s seven provinces.

The beverage pairing was one of the most unique I’ve ever had, using beer, wine, and exclusive off-menu cocktails.

The play on textures and sauces throughout the tasting menu were impressive.

Highlights were Tuna Tartare with black garlic mayo (umami explosion of flavors with playful textures), the Catch of the Day with huancaina sauce and coconut milk curry (complex, but all the flavors just worked in harmony), amazing airline chicken (comforting and elevated), and octopus dish served with a traditional cassava croquette (enyucado) that was reminiscent of Chef Saúl’s mother’s cooking.

Tuna Tartare – Tuna, cured egg yolk, black garlic mayo, avocado emulsion, ponzu sauce, onion puree, fried sage

Vitello Tonnato with La Feria Cocktail – Seared tenderloin, tuna mayonnaise, fried caper, mustard seeds, parmesan, sourdough bread, arugula, mustard and honey vinaigrette

⁠Catch of the Day paired with Tico Forest Cocktail – Sea bass, potato purée with huancaína sauce, ají mayo, spirulina tuile, red onion and chili with lemon, coconut milk curry sauce

Octopus paired with Barbanera Special Selection da Uve Leggermente Appassite Wine, Puglia, Italy – Cassava croquette with breaded Costa Rican palmito cheese, fresh zucchini, heart of palm purée, ceviche-style sauce

Beef Tenderloin with Viña Eguia, Tempranillo Wine – Cauliflower purée, fried oyster mushroom, fresh zucchini, asparagus, Spanish sauce

Love seeing how collaborative the chefs are in Costa Rica.

I also had the pleasure of meeting chefs Henry Quesada, Kid Mey Chan and Aldo Elizondo from Conservatorium in San Jose, who were there for a collaboration dinner with Chef Saul at Los Tucanes.

Where To Stay in La Fortuna

Tabacon Thermal Resort & Spa

Tabacon Thermal Resort & Spa is, without a doubt, one of the best hotels in Costa Rica. It’s on a 900-acre private reserve and has won countless awards from Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast.

This five-star, Michelin Guide-recommended hotel is the definition of a certified sustainable hotel.

It’s carbon neutral and has the Elite Level CST certification, which is the highest sustainability rating in the country.

My Orchid Room with King Bed was spacious and modern, had a rainfall shower and a welcome gift of Guaro infused with local ingredients. Note: unlike the other hotels, the mini-bar here is for purchase.

Plus, hotel guests get complimentary access to Tabacon Hot Springs with exclusive hours from 8AM to 10AM, 2 extra hours before the public.

Included with your stay at Tabacon Thermal Resort, breakfast is an incredible buffet spread at Tucanes Restaurant, with a fresh station making things like Costa Rican chorreadas (corn pancakes) and tortilla de queso.

Final Thoughts on My First Costa Rica Road Trip

And that’s a wrap on my incredible five days in Costa Rica!

This Costa Rica road trip was the perfect introduction to Central America. I learned that in Costa Rica, the adventure, the landscape, and the food are all part of the same story.

From the volcanic peaks of Irazu to the misty cloud forests of Monteverde, to the delicious food and the friendliest people, I was blown away.

You can’t just visit one place. You have to do a road trip in Costa Rica.

It’s the only way to drive from one microclimate to the next, experiencing and tasting the “Pura Vida” lifestyle every step of the way. I cannot wait to explore more!

Pura Vida Costa Rica!